The Erie Near Albany

If you follow (even generally) the tortuous route I suggested from Stanhope to Bar Harbor, you'll be passing just est of Albany, the eastern end of the Erie Canal. There are still some sections of it there, including some of the locks and towpaths. The Albany Institute of History and Art has original drawings by Robert Fulton and early hand drawn maps of the Canal. The Schenectady County Historical Society History Museum and Mabee Farm Historic Site is another possible destination in the Albany area, But trying to get too much farther west will just take away time I think that you could better spend in New England.
AZBuck

Actually, Erie Canal would be on the trip AFTER Maine, not on the way up. One place that my husband never got, when trucking, was north of Boston. Even there, he only went to Boston once (I think). So that's one reason he wants to head for Maine, because he's never been there. I haven't seen Acadia since I was 10 years old...um, too many years ago.

After Erie Canal and upstate New York, we are heading back to Dayton to see if we can try to get to the Wright Bros stuff like we missed last year. (We already checked Gettysburg, and decided against it for now.) Then up to Chicago suburbs to visit with family, we think.

About "Soarin'" ... is it by chance the same one as in California Adventure? If it's different, I'd go in a flash. With 3 days for Disney, we thought we would concentrate on anything that is NOT in the California parks. Looking at the WDW website, it also cracks me up that something that's in one park in California is in a different park in Florida!

I've never been to Disney Land so don't know if they're the same. Soarin' is like you're flying in a plane over California and when you fly over an orange grove, you can smell the orange blossoms. You sit in an airplane like seat and it then lifts you up in the air so that your feet are hanging in space. It's great!!

Not surprised about Shades Of Green being booked but I thought you might get lucky.

I'm pretty sure they are the same ride. I haven't been to the one in California, but the one at Epcot is California themed, and I've gotten the impression it is an exact copy. I know its very popular, but I wasn't real impressed with it.

I have to say that Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM) is my personal favorite of all the rides at Disney World.

It sounds like Soarin', and probably Tower of Terror, are the same rides that are in Disney's California Adventure. I think we'll pass on those, then, unless we have spare time. I AM glad to read that FL Disney has the Fast Passes -- do they have them in all of the parks or just one or two? I will have to spend some more time on the WDW website!

I've been peeking around the Disney site for FL. It's just amazing to me, what rides are where in FL. Indiana Jones is in our DL, and I guess it's (where it should be) in DHS in FL. I'm not sure where Pirates of the Caribbean is, in FL, but in California, it's in DL. I've started to make lists for each park, of what is different, so that we spend our time in the FL site in attractions that CA and DL don't have.

Next question.....Vicksburg National Military Site. Can we see the basics in 2 or 3 hours? Thinking here, look at the Visitor Center, go up to the ship that was pulled out of the river (USS Cairo?), and a look at the graveyard. Hubby has to miss Gettysburg again this year, so I'm trying to find a military park here and there along our route where we can spend a couple of hours each along the way.

I've ridden about 3/4 of it, before the ride broke down and after 45 minutes we were pushed backwards to an emergency exit. Other than "small world" I really can't think of a ride that would be worse to be stuck on....

'Bout Right

Two to three hours is actually sufficient for a good visit at Vicksburg. Remember that this was a siege, not a mobile battle, so everything is pretty compact. In fact the park is set out so that you drive along the Union lines (Union Avenue), make the turn at the USS Cairo Museum, and return to the entrance along the Confederate lines (Confederate Avenue). The Visitor Center is at the Entrance/Exit so you can see it either before taking the drive or afterwards (or a bit of both). What I found most telling was actually stopping at one of the many pullouts along the driving route and actually walking across from one line to the other and realizing how close the two sides were to each other for the duration of the siege. Pemberton Avenue or Graveyard Road provide some orientation and direction.